


the last time (I break your heart at the rhythm of a vals)

by AGreekDemigod



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam/Shiro (Voltron) Reunion, Adashi reunion, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ballroom Dancing, Everybody Lives, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, POV Shiro (Voltron), Reminiscing, Through the Years, adashi dancing, dancing analogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:56:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGreekDemigod/pseuds/AGreekDemigod
Summary: His courage leaves him the second he glances at the front door of the old house he once used to call home.Suddenly Shiro’s sixteen again and his hands are sweaty as he asks a pretty boy with hazel eyes and caramel hair out for a date.Suddenly Shiro’s twenty one and his fingers tremble as he kneels down and opens the little box to show a golden ring in it.Suddenly he’s twenty five and he’s holding back from crying as he boards the Kerberos ship.---Or, I write an adashi reunion fic while also using dancing analogies.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 48





	the last time (I break your heart at the rhythm of a vals)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this with The Last Time by Taylor Swift ft. Gary Lightbody playing in my earphones so I would advise you to do the same, if only to feel the energy I wanted to convey in this fic. But also because it’s truly a beautiful song.

_There is a boy in the center of the ballroom, trying to make his feet follow the instructor’s directions._

_He stumbles and misses the rhythm, and his partner’s toes are hurting by his mistakes, his ears burning in shame with every new apology._

_He regrets signing up for this class, with this teacher, at this time schedule. He blames his clumsiness to his too big body and his lack of ability to follow the tune to his stupid brain. But he is in the top of his piloting classes with that same body, and the top three of his maths class with that same mind, and so they are empty excuses._

_This is a boy that doesn’t like dancing because it doesn’t come to him naturally. He is not used to failing, not for something that in concept should be easy. And so he hides his embarrassment and frustration behind sheepish smiles and excuses, letting them wash away every motivation that could inspire a change in this torture._

_There is a boy so determined in thinking he would fail that he can’t grow, he can’t see that the instructor’s nagging is not personal, that his partner’s steps are slowing down so he can meet them, that they are trying to help._

_The boy feels lost, disgraced, and worst of all, he feels lonely. Even while in the middle of a hurricane of dancers._

_*_

His courage leaves him the second he glances at the front door of the old house he once used to call home.

He breathes in and out. Looking at the house feels like going back to the past, but Shiro’s attention is focused on the present, on the future.

But to stop reminiscing about the past seems impossible.

-

_In your positions._

Falling for him had been like dancing. 

He had heard the music start the second he had met gazes with him, he had felt his face grow heated and his muscles too stiff, and suddenly he had been pulled into a dance for a piece he didn’t know, with a choreography he hadn’t practiced ever before. He’s sixteen and Shiro is overwhelmingly falling in love for a boy with a charming laugh and witty remarks and he’s lost and he’s scared, he cannot keep up with the pace of his own feelings.

The grip on his hand does not falter, and there’s fingers interlacing with his as his partner guides him into the piece, and he does not mind that they are not following the tempo, and he stumbles along with Shiro and laughs at his mistakes, and blushes just as hard as him.

Adam dances and misses steps but he keeps trying and Shiro bites down his lip and shakes his fears away and tries to follow him.

 _Step one, step two, turn. Wrong timing_.

-

Suddenly Shiro’s sixteen again and his hands are sweaty as he asks a pretty boy with hazel eyes and caramel hair out for a date.

And his heart skips a beat when he says yes.

-

Dating is a new song, and it has a slower tempo and a sweeter melody. They will learn to read each other's movements, they will take their time to practice the steps, they will predict the other’s intentions and improvise to fix their mistakes. They will hold each other tightly when they are feeling dejected and will quicken the pace when they are feeling adventurous. And they miss but they don’t stop, not even when they feel like it’s too much, because the music is sweet and their kisses even more so, and their hearts beat in unison with the song even if their feet don’t yet. 

_Step, step, slide, turn. Repeat._

Practice and time leads to experience and there’s a point where following the same song is not enough. Hesitation turns to resolve and confidence shines brightly when you are with someone you trust, and it is Adam the one who takes a new step for Shiro to follow, who turns and makes a move different from the ones they are used to and it doesn’t feel wrong, just different.

And Shiro trusts him and follows him and he adds a new one and another and another.

Break the rhythm to create a new one to replace, make their own melody, a new choreography together, one they can change the tempo of whenever they want, one that is different every time and it’s not scary, because they know the other would be there when they run into each other’s arms. And never before has dancing come so naturally to him, never had it felt as fulfilling, felt as _right_.

Before they realise it, they are the ones in control of their steps. And once they do, it doesn’t change anything, they are already used to each other’s dancing by then.

_Perfect._

-

Suddenly Shiro’s twenty one and his fingers tremble as he kneels down and opens the little box to show a golden ring in it. 

And Adam laughs and nods and cries and Shiro kisses him and they dance fiercely and enthusiastically and the music changes with them, following them.

-

But rhythms can be shattered and choreographies can get messy and uncoordinated. And suddenly Shiro is battling a war against his own body and another against his expectations and he wants to be back to what it was, and how they were and he can’t. No matter how much he practices, no matter how hard he tries, his feet do not respond, and he’s back at square one and he’s lost and he’s scared.

And Adam doesn’t let him fall, not even when it tires him too, not even when he is falling with him.

And Shiro notices and he knows he can’t ask that of him.

_Slide, turn, hold. Hold._

Adam asks him to take it easy, to let himself be guided by him again, to trust him, to believe he’s not giving up on him. To believe he loves him and this melody may be painful and bitter but they can still dance to it, they can until they reach the end of it, and that would be enough, as long as they are together.

_Step, sprint, turn. Stay._

But Shiro cannot be that selfish, and so he is. A selfish decision for selfless reasons is still selfish and Shiro is lost and he’s scared and he’s heartbroken.

_Wrong, wrong, wrong. From the beginning._

-

Suddenly he’s twenty five and he’s holding back from crying as he boards the Kerberos ship.

-

There was no music to dance to in space.

Space was silent but when it wasn’t, it was full of screaming, roaring and shooting.

Space was silent but inside the Castleship there’s laughter and teasing but no partner to lead him through the piece.

There was no other he ever wanted to dance with there. 

Allura couldn’t keep up with the rhythm, Keith was too stiff, Lance too graceful, Hunk too heavy, Pidge too small, and Coran was on a totally different level.

There’s no music to dance to in space and Shiro is heartbroken and he hums to fill the silence.

-

His heart stutters just as much as his steps as he approaches the door.

Painful words echo in his head, feeding his fears. Adam’s last words to him had cut deeper than any galran blade ever had, and the possibility of them being real scares Shiro like nothing else.

What would he do if he had indeed moved on? Shiro had anchored to his memory while in space; the sound of his laugh, the shine in his eyes, the only thing keeping him sane when everything around him seemed to be out to destroy him.

When Allura informed him the galra had cured him from his illness without meaning to, Adam had been the first thing that crossed his mind. The future he had once promised to him and the music they had once danced to. 

Survival instincts can only push you so far, but love, love can be the reason to keep living, to keep perseverating through hardships and nightmares.

And his love for Adam had not flickered once. 

_Step one,_

This is the last effort in a long list of struggles. The most important for him in particular.

He has promises in the tip of his tongue, he has apologies in the form of tears and craving stabbing his heart. This is the last time, he swears. No more heartbreaks, no more longing or suffering. 

He is going to make it right, for once.

_Step two –_

Shiro knocks on the door and there’s movement on the other side, and the knob turns and suddenly they are reunited again and he can breathe again. 

– _Don’t turn. Hold._

Caramel hair shines under the evening sun and behind rimmed glasses hazel eyes blink back at him in surprise and he doesn’t know who’s more lost at words, who’s more scared. 

But there’s still the same golden ring in his left hand and tears running down his face and Shiro knows there’s hope left, that their hearts still beat in unison, that they never stopped. 

_Hold._

Shiro takes a breath in and lets one out. So many things have changed since he left, and he is not the same person that he was and neither is Adam. But he’s willing to try again, he’s aching for a new opportunity with him. Would he consider welcoming him in his life again? Would he let him try to fix his mistakes? Would he join him in a new dance, one where Adam dictates the tempo while Shiro tries to show him the new melody of his heart? Could he love him again?

_Shall we dance?_

-

Tenderly he holds Adam in his arms and brushes his tears away, and he breaths his essence and nods along his mumbling because, _yes_ , he’s _alive_ , and he’s not leaving ever again. Not without him.

*

_There is a man in the middle of a living room, humming at the rhythm of the music that comes from the speakers._

_He stumbles and misses a step, but his partner is quick and supportive, and so he doesn’t worry, whispering ‘thank you’s against his lips between kisses._

_They take their time in relearning each other again, they make mistakes and improvise and repeat it all over again. And they discover that they still remember each other’s movements, that following each other’s style comes as natural as water, even after having matured with time._

_And there’s no need to worry about the music, because their song is one they will build together, just like they did so many years ago, like they are doing now. And they turn wrong or spin too fast and Shiro stutters and Adam blushes before they laugh and keep going._

_There’s still promises to be fulfilled, the rings in their hands remind them, and worlds to be discovered, space calls, but those are songs for the future and they will reach them once the present one changes, once they feel ready to continue with the next one._

_Because there will be a next one, and then another and another._

_They will make sure of it._

  
  


FIN.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea of Shiro coming back to Earth and going to Adam’s house to ask for forgiveness but i wasn't sure how to write it until I found an old song in my laptop. Also I like to imagine that the garrison is a rich school that forces the alumni to take relaxing classes like ballroom dancing so they don't die of stress and Shiro just hated it.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> (And also a shout out to my lovely beta Ana who is amazing <3)


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